EAP225 v3 - recent FW upgrade issues
EAP225 v3 - recent FW upgrade issues
Hi,
most recent FW 2.20.1 for a stand-alone EAP225 comes along with a bold warning:
If your EAP is working standalone, please note that the EAP will be reset after upgrading to this firmware and you need to re-configure your EAP.
Your device's configuration will be lost after upgrading and you need to re-configure your devices because some new features are not compatible with the old version. Suggest to back up your configuration before upgrading and please note the new version doesn't support to restore the old configuration file.
C'mon TP, seriously???? I have a quite comprehensive and complex configuration ... do you REALLY force me to either stay with FW 2.7.0 or MANUALLY re-configure all of my settings? This is so Stone Age, guys....
Anyone else having a more professional idea how to transfer current configuration to the new FW 2.20.1 ?
Cheers,
Manfred
- Copy Link
- Subscribe
- Bookmark
- Report Inappropriate Content
Hi @Manfred,
While I agree with your sentiment, unfortunately sometimes when big changes are made old configurations must be lost.
But seriously, you're talking about one AP, right? How complex can your configuration be?
I've not tried it, but I have heard that you might be able to save/export your settings pre-upgrade, update firmware, and then inport them post upgrade.
If you have multiple AP's better to get an OC-200 or use Omada Server.
Just take screen shots of your settings before you upgrade.
-Jonathan
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
Frankly, I am not in agreement with you. Especially when BIG changes are made (and I am myself in IT service business) it requires comprehensive and professional help from the manufacturor to help their customers from A to B instead of leaving them alone.
Just imagine SAP would launch a major release and they told theirs customers "sorry guys, this is a big change..therefore re-configure SAP from scratch manually...hope, you don't mind". Incredibly.
And I anticipate that it does not take a big effort to provide a small conversion tool which picks the FW 2.7.0 config.bin and transfers appropriate settings into a FW 2.20.1 config.bin
which then can be restored into the EAP225's configuration. Shouldn't be a big deal.
But maybe TP doesn't care much about their customer's perception....
Cheers, M.
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
Dear Manfred
I’m sorry for the inconvenience caused. May I ask how many EAP units you have in total? Are you using the EAP in Standalone mode or in Controller mode?
If your EAP works in Controller mode, we could back up the controller settings before upgrading the Controller and the EAP unit. Once the Controller is upgraded, restore the backup file and then upgrade the EAP from the Controller page. Here is the Omada Controller Upgrade Guide for your reference.
But if your EAP works in Standalone mode, I'm afraid that the backup file from the EAP won't work after the firmware is upgraded, it would require manual reconfiguration. Generally speaking, the EAP in Standalone mode has very limited functions supported, so it's usually simple for reconfiguration, you may not worry it too much.
Sorry again for any trouble caused by the firmware upgrade. Your feedback here is much appreciated!
Best Regards.
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
Hello Fae,
I just have one EAP in operation which is in standalone mode. Hence, a controller is not required.
You may anicipate that reconfiguring the settings from scratch is a no-brainer, just and reasonable. However, you are totally wrong.
It took me 12 (!) full pages in a word document to capture all the different settings, starting with various SSIDs and their individual settings, a guest portal with terms&conditions, comprehensive MAC-filter lists, SSID-driven schedulers, admin-MAC addresses, static IP, some security features, Airtime fairness disabled, AND SO ON.
What I really cannot accept is that the product support of TP is so weak and leaves certain customers in the dark. And, frankly, I have never experienced such a behavior using other wireless routers like D-Link or NetGear.
So for the time being I stay on FW 2.7.0 - supported upgrade not possible.
Cheers,
Manfred
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
Manfred wrote
So for the time being I stay on FW 2.7.0 - supported upgrade not possible.
SDN Controller and the accompanying SDN firmwares for certain EAPs and switches are brand-new products, not only regular firmware upgrades.
If you can't or don't want to migrate your EAP to this product with new, but also different, partly incompatible features – effectively making new SDN EAPs out of existing models free of charge –, just continue to use the v2.7.0 firmware for EAP225.
There is nothing wrong with not migrating the EAP firmware to SDN firmware, especially if you don't use SDN Controller at all.
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
Dear @Manfred,
Thank you again for your valued feedback!
It's not necessary to upgrade the recent firmware since your EAP225 works in standalone mode. Just like R1D2 mentioned above, the recent FW upgrade is to migrate the EAP firmware to SDN firmware, you may be relieved to stay on the v2.7.0 firmware for your EAP225. But if you have any further concerns, do not hesitate to contact TP-Link support.
Best regards!
Manfred wrote
Hello Fae,
I just have one EAP in operation which is in standalone mode. Hence, a controller is not required.
You may anicipate that reconfiguring the settings from scratch is a no-brainer, just and reasonable. However, you are totally wrong.
It took me 12 (!) full pages in a word document to capture all the different settings, starting with various SSIDs and their individual settings, a guest portal with terms&conditions, comprehensive MAC-filter lists, SSID-driven schedulers, admin-MAC addresses, static IP, some security features, Airtime fairness disabled, AND SO ON.
What I really cannot accept is that the product support of TP is so weak and leaves certain customers in the dark. And, frankly, I have never experienced such a behavior using other wireless routers like D-Link or NetGear.
So for the time being I stay on FW 2.7.0 - supported upgrade not possible.
Cheers,
Manfred
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
Manfred wrote
Just imagine SAP would launch a major release and they told theirs customers "sorry guys, this is a big change..therefore re-configure SAP from scratch manually...hope, you don't mind".
Oh, and since you mentioned SAP: if you use SAP software, you don't even need a software upgrade to completely have to restructure your business and nevertheless have to bear the risk to end up in bankruptcy, like it happened, for example, with a large U.S. pharmaceutical company several years ago, where the introduction of SAP software did crash their business completely.
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
OMG, I spit our my coffee all over my laptop!
I work/have worked at several major Pharma in the United States during the "transition" to SAP. What an absolute nightmare. I have never used worse software (as an end user) for purchasing and order management.
Thanks for making my day (-:
Regrettably Ariba eMarketPlace is just as bad. The old (like 1999-2005 old) Ariba Ez-Buy thick Java client was the best purchasing software ever.
We've literally pleaded with Amazon to take over this mess. If only I could get Jeff's ear.
-Jonathan
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
My Appologies @Manfred,
R1D2, Fae, Jonas, and others on this board really do go out of their way to help customers. R1D2 doesn't even work for TP-Link but yet gives freely, hours of his time, and expertise (I'm not sure why -- for fun?) to help others here on this board. It's one of the reasons I frequent this board myself because it is great to read all of the helpful suggestions and different customer applications.
I also use the EAP225 at home and have a smaller setup (2xEAP225V3, 2xEAP225-OD, OC-200, SDN) and really enjoy the value, performance, and reliability of this TP-Link equipment for my needs.
But, to be honest, you came in all hot and bothered with a fairly superficial gripe. I acknowledged, in a prior post, that your complaint was a valid concern, and that it would be nice if TP-Link (and all vendors) gave your concern more consideration when wiritng their software. TP-Link actually does generally try to preserve user settings through firmware upgrades, but sometimes it's not always possible / practical.
Fae did propose a solution, and the Omada server application is FREE, so even though you only have one AP, you could take the approach she suggested. You have to understand that while every customer is important, this board is really dedicated to business users (like R1D2) of these products that deploy 5, 10, 20, 100's of these's AP's at a time.
So, while I understand you are upset about your particular situation. In the grand scheme of things, preserving the setting of one standalone EAP is not really a very high priority concern. Particularly since you're not even using Omada / OC-200 / SDN. So there's really no need for you to even upgrade to the new firmware.
Also, please keep in mind that this is a customer DISCUSSION board, not tech support. There are a few TP-Link employees (like Fae and Jonas) that weigh in from time to time -- and we are greatful and than them for their interest, feedback, and concern (unlike Netgear's boards for example).
But, like Reddit et al., you may get the occassional snarky comment.
"You catch more flies with honey than vinegar"
Best wishes,
Jonathan
- Copy Link
- Report Inappropriate Content
Information
Helpful: 0
Views: 2978
Replies: 12
Voters 0
No one has voted for it yet.